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Worried Progressives See Control of Supreme Court Hanging in Balance in
November Election

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - At 87, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest justice of the
   U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by former Democratic President Bill
   Clinton in 1993, she's also one of its longest-serving and most liberal
   members with an almost cult-like following among progressives.

   Last Friday, the "liberal lion," a survivor of several bouts with
   cancer, sent shockwaves through her legion of fans with the
   announcement that her cancer has returned.

   While Ginsburg, affectionately known as RBG, said she has no plans to
   retire, progressives fear a possible court vacancy would allow
   President Donald Trump to put another conservative on the bench,
   further moving it to the right.

   "Everybody is checking their phones daily to see what Justice
   Ginsburg['s] health situation is," said Russell Wheeler, a visiting
   fellow at the Brooking Institution, a Washington think tank, and a
   former deputy director of the Federal Judicial Center, the research arm
   of the U.S. judiciary.

   With five conservative and four liberal members, the Supreme Court
   touches nearly every facet of American life. Two of its conservative
   justices -- Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh -- were appointed by
   Trump. And despite ruling against several Trump administration
   policies, the court's ideological center of gravity remains
   conservative.

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